The Sheep Run

The following is a post by Dr. John Heathershaw, Senior Lecturer in International Relation, University of Exeter.

May in Tajikistan is a time when Shepherds move their sheep from lowland fields to higher mountain pastures (ailoo).  On the road from Vakhdat to Garm, I witnessed herds of up to 1,500 sheep moving along the road with 3 or 4 shepherds trying to get them from getting run over by the cars which impatiently honk their horns. A sea of sheep surrounds vehicles. When one car finds a line to overtake another it can cause a wave of sheep which obstructs the other.

For drivers and passengers, these vast herds cause merely a minor delay and distraction. For the shepherds, the sheep run can be weeks and even more than a month of work. Herds can be moved from as far south as the Qubodiyon and Sharitus districts of Khatlon to the westerly Tojikabad and Jirgatol districts of the Rasht valley. This is a distance of some 300-400km. Farmers do this because a sheep which winters in the warmer lowland climes may weigh 10-15kg more than one which has survived a harsh winter in the mountains of Rasht.

In the Kamarob Gorge, Rasht Valley, I visited the high pastures of the hardy young shepherds who work its higher reaches. The best section of the road we came along on the way was said to have been built by an Englishman who improbably kept an office in Kamarob. We crossed a rickety bridge and wandered through the village calling at friends who are a family of shepherds. Boys are introduced to shepherding from a young age as they proudly make their staffs (siokh). It is hard work for little or no pay in a region in which there are few work opportunities.

If they are not away for work in Russia, most young men in these parts are engaged in hard agricultural labour or seasonal labour migration.  I asked if they play football. ‘We only play with sheep’, was the answer. There was not a piece of flat land and certainly not a pitch for many miles.  Will they watch the world cup?  ‘Yes, if we can get a signal’.